"Honey! You're curling up into a ball. What's the problem now?"
"Leave me alone… I want to be by myself…"
"Here we go again. Come on, talk to me. If I leave you alone like this, you start getting negative. The last time you acted like this, you ended up concluding that you were a slug."
"I have things to think about."
When I have complicated thoughts, I usually go to a corner, staring at the wall while curling up and hugging my knees.
Iris calls it 'ball mode' but it's a habit I've had for as long as I can remember. I always feel like I think and process things better that way.
I really need to understand why the fusion lasted until the end.
There must be some factor I'm missing, something I'm not understanding or am overlooking.
"You only got like that because you liked what we did with big sis, right?"
"Who says I liked it?"
"Oh come on, honey. We were one, clearly, we felt the same. There was no resistance. We enjoyed it from start to finish."
"..."
And that's exactly why this feels strange to me and requires deep analysis and reevaluation; there was definitely something wrong with the previous fusion.
"Don't overthink it. I don't want you to go into slug mode again. What's wrong with liking that?"
"I didn't say it was wrong, just... it's complicated."
"No, it's not complicated at all. Nothing good comes from you acting like this. I also remember the time you said you wanted to be a pebble by the side of the road."
"I already told you I just want to think."
"No negotiation, honey! Stop it or I'll use force."
She threatened to use force, but in fact she had already grabbed me and lifted me up above her.
This is something she could even do in our previous life, but now she does it much more easily. I couldn't put up any resistance.
"Ugh! Let me go. You're only supposed to use force when I keep resisting."
"But you were going to keep resisting, weren't you?"
"…Yeah."
"See, the order doesn't matter. I'm not going to let you curl up into a ball anyway. You kept going on about the slug so much that I even dreamed I'd turned into one. Then you sprinkled salt on me and ate me… hmm, though I don't know if that counts as a nightmare… hmm… honey, are slug tasty?"
"I don't know, just let me down."
"I won't until you promise you won't curl up into a ball… Besides, there wasn't anything wrong last time either, you know? After all, men's G-spots are in…"
"Stop! fine, I won't do it, but don't bring that up."
Some things are better left unmentioned.
And anyway, it's not really a priority right now. Although it requires an assessment, I can leave it for later; what's important now is Roselyn and her problematic mission.
She must already have a high percentage with Iris. I don't know exactly how much, but it should be at least over fifty.
Whatever it is, if I use it as leverage, I can take advantage of it to get her to talk to me and tell me in detail the extent of her current situation...
Huh? why hasn't she put me down yet?
I realized Iris still hadn't put me down. I didn't understand what was going on since I already told her I wasn't going to do anything… but now that I think about it, given how she is—
"Honey! You know, with my new power, I've realized I can now do some moves I couldn't do before and—"
"Stop whatever you're thinking about! Let me down or I'll really get angry. Your current strength could actually kill me; I haven't boosted my stats."
Yeah, in situations like this, her ideas pop up, and they're definitely not good news. What she said worried me, and I started struggling to get her to let go, but her grip was firm.
"Don't worry, honey, I'll hold back, and at the very last second before the 'Fatality', I'll let you go."
"Put me down. Now. (►__◄)"
"Okay... /_ \"
I had to speak to her harshly and angrily before she finally gave in.
She looked sad, but I know it was because she couldn't make what she had in mind a reality.
But now her intrusive thoughts aren't good at all.
Maybe she doesn't understand her own current limits and could actually kill me if she's not careful; I had to warn her seriously.
"Iris Santana."
"Hii!!... Noo! Honey, I'm sorry, I was wrong."
I addressed her using her first name and maiden name, and she knows very well that means I'm really going to give her a good scolding.
She, more nimbly than I remembered, moved and did an Olympic-style somersault in the air that ended with her kneeling right in front of me, begging for mercy.
I really don't like scolding her either, but this was a matter of life and death—and not just for me.
If she's careless with her new power, she could accidentally hurt someone else, especially since she's letting herself get carried away.
So I kept a straight face, with a trace of anger fueled by genuine rage at having been almost used to test something with 'fatality' in the name just a moment ago.
I prepared to give her a good scolding and explain in detail what she did wrong, why she shouldn't do it, and then why I had to scold her and be strict.
"Alright, then tell me specifically what you think you did wrong..."
"...Uuuuh ＞﹏＜ ...that I didn't wear a helmet?"
"(►__◄)"
"Hiiii! I don't know, but I don't want a lecture that goes on for hours... Honey, have mercy, forgive me. Just tell me straight up what I did and I won't do it again, I swear."
She doesn't like these lectures because I can scold her for hours, but something on that level is necessary if I want her to understand things clearly; saying things directly and briefly doesn't work with her.
Just as I was about to start talking and scold her without letting myself be swayed by her pitiful, almost tearful face, a third person's voice was heard—
"Wait! It's my fault. Iris is innocent; I was the one who seduced her."
Roselyn came out of the room. She looked worried and quickly stepped between Iris and me.
From what she said, it's clear she has a misunderstanding. She seems to think I caught them and now I'm angry about it, and Iris is kneeling, apologizing to me or something like that.
I have to say it's commendable that she's willing to take all the blame for Iris's sake.
She woke up sooner than I thought. Well, her body seemed fine; it was her mind that seemed to have shut down.
That's convenient. The sooner I can get the information out of her, the better. I'll use this misunderstanding to my advantage.
"Don't try to cover for her. You both share responsibility in this matter."
"Huh? Sister Rose too? Wasn't it just my fault?" (Iris)
Iris looked confused, because now Roselyn was implicated.
"No, Iris, it wasn't your fault. I wanted it too; you can't take all the blame." (Rose)
And Roselyn kept misinterpreting it, thinking that Iris was trying to cover for her as well.
"R-really?" (Iris)
"Yes." (Rose)
They weren't talking about the same thing at all, and I interrupted them before they could clear up the misunderstanding.
"I see you were in cahoots after all. You both dared to deceive me right under my nose, without any consideration or remorse."
"Huh? Honey—?" (Iris)
'Stop. The scolding is postponed for later. Stay quiet while I get information out of her... only speak when I ask you to. If you do this right, I'll limit myself to just an hour of scolding.'
'Okay, honeyu... Sorry, sis Rose, but this is for the greater good!'
'First things first, tell me her percentages toward you.'
'Huh? Oh, right. Let's see… carnal 61—oh, it went up to 62—rational 53, emotional 69. Honey, I've almost got her wrapped around my finger; I'm amazing.'
'Alright, those are really good percentages, and they're still rising because she just woke up and still needs to process a lot of things.
It seems that, if I say the right thing, I can pin the stigma of lethargy on her.
But that wasn't my current priority; that could come later, after I heard what she was holding back.
I stared at her with a face that showed indignation, anger, and menace.
"Ugh... I-I..." (Rose)
She seemed to feel pressured by me, since I obviously had the moral high ground and she was the one who had done wrong.
"What? Don't you have anything to say about this? I'll listen to your pathetic excuse."
"...No, I don't have any excuse. What Iris and I did isn't right, and I knew she was married. That's why the responsibility should fall mostly on me, since I interfered in their lives." (Rose)
She finally dropped her meek attitude and looked me in the eye without flinching.
It seems that, even though she understands she did something wrong, she won't back down; she's fully prepared to take responsibility.
I really like this woman's character, especially since, as far as I know, she must be unsure of my strength.
But she probably thinks I'm very close to Iris's level, who proved to be stronger than her.
Which means she's really putting herself at risk here for Iris's sake.
"Yes, you're absolutely right. My sweet, simple-minded Iris must have been manipulated—she was seduced by your tricks and sweet words."
'Huehue~ Honey called me sweet.'
It was a good thing Rose had her back turned to Iris, because she was now smiling.
Meanwhile, Roselyn had a troubled look on her face, but she finally spoke.
"I can't say you're wrong, and that's why I'll take responsibility. What Iris and I have isn't just simple desire; we share a pure and sincere love for each other. I'm sorry for what happened, but Iris's heart isn't with you anymore." (Rose)
"(►__◄)"